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Jesus Before The Gospels

How The Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, And Invented Their Stories Of The Savior

Bart Ehrman

$27.99

Paperback

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English
HarperOne
05 October 2017
Many believe that the Gospel stories of Jesus are based on eyewitness testimony and are therefore historically reliable. Now, for the first time, a scholar of the New Testament, New York Times bestselling author Bart D. Ehrman surveys research from the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explore how oral traditions and group memories really work and questions how reliable the Gospels can be.

Focusing on the decades-long gap between when Jesus lived and when these documents about him began to appear, Ehrman looks to these varied disciplines to see what they can tell us about how the New Testament developed. In the book, Ehrman examines:

 

How cultural anthropologists studied the oral traditions of Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Ghana to reveal how stories always change as they are passed along. How psychologists have discovered the routine phenomena of “false memories” and how strongly people contend that these false memories really happened. How modern legal scholars and psychologists have shown how unreliable eyewitness testimonies really are, with people regularly distorting what they experienced. How sociologists have shown that a group's collective memory is strongly shaped by the issues and concerns of the remembering community just as much by the events themselves

Jesus Before the Gospels is a compelling narrative that not only demonstrates Ehrman’s deep knowledge and meticulous scholarship, but also challenges the historical accuracy of the Gospels and what they tell us about the historical Jesus, the way we read and think about these sacred texts, and how we view history.

By:  
Imprint:   HarperOne
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 203mm,  Width: 135mm,  Spine: 20mm
Weight:   245g
ISBN:   9780062285225
ISBN 10:   006228522X
Pages:   320
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Reviews for Jesus Before The Gospels: How The Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, And Invented Their Stories Of The Savior

Ehrman provides an intriguing overview of memory studies and introduces readers to a variety of important pioneers and studies. . . . Ehrman concludes that the historical Jesus did not make history; the remembered Jesus did. An intriguing new angle on the well-worn field of historical Jesus studies. --Kirkus Review Jesus Before the Gospels is a scholarly yet readable study of Jesus and the Gospels. Ehrman s scholarship remains unmatched. Ehrman unveils several unexplored aspects of the life of Jesus and the Gospels. Everybody with an interest in Christianity and religion in general will find this fascinating book useful. -- Washington Book Review With Jesus Before the Gospels, Bart D. Ehrman has written a thought-provoking book prompted by his interest as a historian in the various traditions about Jesus. Enjoyable to read -- America Magazine Why buy this book if you ve already got lots of volumes about Jesus? This book is something new. You ll discover people in this book that you would never encounter in other religious books. There s nothing like this 300-page exploration of our earliest human memories of Jesus. --Read The Spirit Ehrman is one of the foremost voices in the historical Jesus debates. In this, the latest of a long list of influential books, he combines his ideas about Jesus with cutting-edge research from cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, and sociology. He more than succeeds in achieving his goal. Highly recommended. --Spirit Connection NY Author Bart Ehrman tackles a central question for scholars of the New Testament-- the accuracy of the text. --NPR's Interfaith Voices In his latest book, controversial New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman applies new scientific understanding of how memory works to the gospels. --WYPR Were the authors of the gospels who told fanciful stories about Jesus making stuff up, or did they have faulty memories, or both? Bart Ehrman, one the most renowned and controversial religious scholars in the world, tackles the issue of Jesus and memory. --Progressive Spirit Podcast An intriguing and entertaining take on the formation of the Gospels. --Library Journal Why buy this book if you've already got lots of volumes about Jesus? This book is something new. You'll discover people in this book that you would never encounter in other religious books. There's nothing like this 300-page exploration of our earliest human memories of Jesus. --Read The Spirit Author Bart Ehrman tackles a central question for scholars of the New Testament-- the accuracy of the text. --NPR's Interfaith Voices Were the authors of the gospels who told fanciful stories about Jesus making stuff up, or did they have faulty memories, or both? Bart Ehrman, one the most renowned and controversial religious scholars in the world, tackles the issue of Jesus and memory. --Progressive Spirit Podcast Ehrman provides an intriguing overview of memory studies and introduces readers to a variety of important pioneers and studies. . . . Ehrman concludes that 'the historical Jesus did not make history; the remembered Jesus did.' An intriguing new angle on the well-worn field of 'historical Jesus' studies. --Kirkus Review An intriguing and entertaining take on the formation of the Gospels. --Library Journal Ehrman is one of the foremost voices in the historical Jesus debates. In this, the latest of a long list of influential books, he combines his ideas about Jesus with cutting-edge research from cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, and sociology. He more than succeeds in achieving his goal. Highly recommended. --Spirit Connection NY In his latest book, controversial New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman applies new scientific understanding of how memory works to the gospels. --WYPR No one makes it easier to study the Bible than Ehrman. Jesus Before the Gospels is essential. Ehrman presents a much needed, brilliant argument-one that challenges unsubstantiated assumptions about the reliability of the Gospels. --David Kyle Johnson, PsychologyToday.com's 'A Logical Take' blog Ehrman is known to his legion of readers as a scholar who has spent his academic career debunking long-held assumptions of traditional Christian belief. Jesus Before the Gospels applies contemporary memory science to the oral traditions of the early Christians. --Religion News Service Our secular culture continues to be profoundly impacted by biblical influences - including fundamentalist biblical influences - and this controversial book raises some important questions. --State of Belief Radio Jesus Before the Gospels is a scholarly yet readable study of Jesus and the Gospels. Ehrman's scholarship remains unmatched. Ehrman unveils several unexplored aspects of the life of Jesus and the Gospels. Everybody with an interest in Christianity and religion in general will find this fascinating book useful. --Washington Book Review One can see why Ehrman is so widely known and respected by so many people. Here Ehrman takes a completely different approach from his previous books. This book is a new approach to the study of the beginnings of Christianity. --Association for Mormon Letters A fascinating look at how memory affects the stories we tell and even our recollection of history. --Arkansas Democrat-Gazette With Jesus Before the Gospels, Bart D. Ehrman has written a thought-provoking book prompted by his interest as a historian in the various traditions about Jesus. Enjoyable to read --America Magazine With his typical humor, passion, and vivacity, Ehrman explores the ways that memory shapes, distorts, changes, and preserves the stories of Jesus passed along by the Christian community. Ehrman's provocative book raises engaging questions that drive readers back to the sources of our information about Jesus. --Publishers Weekly No one makes it easier to study the Bible than Ehrman. Jesus Before the Gospels is essential. Ehrman presents a much needed, brilliant argument-one that challenges unsubstantiated assumptions about the reliability of the Gospels. --David Kyle Johnson, PsychologyToday.com's 'A Logical Take' blog Our secular culture continues to be profoundly impacted by biblical influences - including fundamentalist biblical influences - and this controversial book raises some important questions. --State of Belief Radio Jesus Before the Gospels is a scholarly yet readable study of Jesus and the Gospels. Ehrman s scholarship remains unmatched. Ehrman unveils several unexplored aspects of the life of Jesus and the Gospels. Everybody with an interest in Christianity and religion in general will find this fascinating book useful. --Washington Book Review With his typical humor, passion, and vivacity, Ehrman explores the ways that memory shapes, distorts, changes, and preserves the stories of Jesus passed along by the Christian community. Ehrman s provocative book raises engaging questions that drive readers back to the sources of our information about Jesus. --Publishers Weekly A fascinating look at how memory affects the stories we tell and even our recollection of history. --Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Ehrman is known to his legion of readers as a scholar who has spent his academic career debunking long-held assumptions of traditional Christian belief. Jesus Before the Gospels applies contemporary memory science to the oral traditions of the early Christians. --Religion News Service With Jesus Before the Gospels, Bart D. Ehrman has written a thought-provoking book prompted by his interest as a historian in the various traditions about Jesus. Enjoyable to read --America Magazine One can see why Ehrman is so widely known and respected by so many people. Here Ehrman takes a completely different approach from his previous books. This book is a new approach to the study of the beginnings of Christianity. --Association for Mormon Letters


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